Prostate cancer screening only for "a few thousand" high risk men

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and kills about 12,000 people across the UK each year. The prostate sits below the bladder and helps produce part of seminal fluid while affecting urine flow. Screening healthy men uses a PSA blood test, followed by an MRI scan when results are abnormal. A major review estimates that among 1,000 men screened in their 50s, two lives would be saved from prostate cancer over 15 years, but 20 men would be told they have cancer that would never need treatment. Many of those men would still receive treatment that can cause long-lasting harm, including bladder control problems and erectile dysfunction. Final decisions rest with health ministers across the UK.

"Getty Images Only "a few thousand" men who have a dangerous genetic variant and a family history of cancer should be screened for prostate cancer with a blood test, according to the final recommendations of scientific advisers. The UK's National Screening Committee says the harms of screening outweigh the benefits in all other groups. Testing healthy men for prostate cancer does save lives, but also leads to treatment that can leave men unable to control their bladder or have an erection. The final decision though rests with health ministers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland."

"Prostate screening which is when healthy people are checked for disease involves a blood test called prostate specific antigen or PSA and, depending on the results, a follow up MRI scan of the prostate. A major review by the National Screening Committee said for every 1,000 men screened in their 50s, it would save two lives from prostate cancer over the next 15 years. But it would also lead to 20 men being told they have a cancer that would never need treatment."

"Some prostate cancers grow so slowly you would have to reach 120 to 150 years old before they were a threat. However, they would have to live with that psychological burden of a cancer diagnosis for the rest of their lives. Out of those 20 men, 12 would end up having treatment they don't need, but that damages the prostate potentially damaging their sex lives and causing some incontinence, meaning they would need a pad to catch leaking urine."

""Once a prostate cancer is found, we still can't reliably tell which cancers need treatment or which do not and the treatments available for prostate cancer can cause long-lasting harm," said Prof Sir Mike Richa"

Read at www.bbc.com